The standard of a minimum wage in the U.S. is different than that of any other country. The U.S. has the ability to decide the minimum wage on both a federal and state level. Every other country chooses one or the other. For instance, China has a regional minimum wage, whereas Vietnam has a minimum wage that is set for the entire country. Another astounding difference is that it is the norm for many other countries, maybe even the majority of other countries, to establish a minimum wage on a monthly basis instead of an hourly basis such as that of the U.S. The idea for a minimum wage started in New Zealand and Australia as a way to protect underpaid workers in specific industries, and now the minimum wage movement is used in over half of the 194 countries in the world.
When reviewing minimum wages for other countries we must also take in to consideration the cost of living. Even knowing the cost of living is quite a bit lower in South Africa than in New York City, it still seems shocking that the minimum wage in South Africa, one of Africa’s richest nations, is a mere $.55 (USD). A citizen of Angola may consider themselves lucky though, as the minimum wage is only $.25, and $.21 in Ghana.
Moving to Asia the high and low countries are South Korea and Mongolia, respectively. South Korea tops the charts with $3.30, while Mongolia scrapes in at $.02. The top European nation is Ireland at $10.92, a far cry from the $1.90 in Hungary. Australians earn a minimum of $10.42/hour, Canadians a modest $6.13, and El Salvador $.31 with Chili being the breadwinner of South America at $1.44 USD/hour.
Minimum wage is determined by the government and is calculated with cost of living in mind as well as what an increase would do to jobs and the local and global economy.
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